This invention relates generally to products and devices used by the owners of animals and pets. More particularly, it relates to an animal litter box which is used to facilitate the removal of animal excrement and clumped litter from a supply of clean litter such that the clean litter can be recycled and reused. It also relates to such a litter box which allows for the recycling and reuse of clean litter without the need to remove the clean litter from the box.
Animals and pets hold a special place in the heart of humanity. Indeed, pets can provide their owners with the most joyous and rewarding of life experiences. Pets can, however, also place many demands upon their owners due in large part to their near constant reliance upon their owners for the pet""s most basic needs. This includes feeding them, seeing to it that they get enough exercise, and cleaning up after them. In the case of our feline companions, as well as some other domesticated house animals, this often requires the attention of the owner to the continuous upkeep and maintenance of an indoor animal litter box.
In the experience of this inventor, there are many animal and pet devices which have been disclosed for assisting pet or animal owners with the cleaning of an animal litter box whereby animal excrement and clumped animal litter are separated from a supply of litter and then physically removed from the device. In his own personal search of the marketplace, however, very few of such devices are, in the experience of this inventor, commercially available for use by members of the purchasing and consuming public. This may seem to be odd given the extent of the current pet population and the concomitant need for, and the desirability of, such devices. In the view of this inventor, however, the reason for this is fairly simple. Most devices which have been disclosed appear to be too complex, requiring many different parts for the manufacturer to fabricate and assemble and requiring many different steps in order that the pet owner can properly utilize the devices.
As an additional observation made by this inventor, the originators of many such litter boxes profess to effectively eliminate the need to scrape or scoop clumped litter from the bottom or side surfaces of the principal or main litter box container. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with animal litter boxes is readily aware of the fact that commercially available litter, in most cases, effectively xe2x80x9cgluesxe2x80x9d itself to any available surface thereby making it extremely difficult to remove without some sort of scoop or shovel action by the pet owner. This is particularly true where, for example, the pet has a habit of urinating in one particular spot or corner of the litter box.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new, useful and uncomplicated animal litter box which can be easily manufactured and which can be made with a minimal number of parts. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an animal litter box which can be operated in a very simple fashion without excessive manipulation of the litter box itself and without requiring an excessive number of steps to use. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an animal litter box which catches and separates sifted animal excrement and clumped animal litter from clean litter. It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an animal litter box which allows for the efficient removal of animal excrement and clumped animal litter from the litter box while also allowing for the easy redistribution of litter for additional use within the litter box.
The present invention has obtained these objects. The present invention provides for a main litter box base. A portion of the main litter box base is covered with a partial litter box canopy. Dividing the main litter box container into two different compartments is a sift screen, the sift screen being sealed about its edges with the main litter box container and further being sealed about the edge of the litter box canopy. In an alternative embodiment, the sift screen is engageable with the main litter box container and the litter box canopy but is also removable from the assembly for cleaning access behind the screen. The litter box screen includes a moveable door for accessing or preventing access to the screened portion of the box. A screen holding bar is provided opposite the access door for preventing the movement of loose excrement and clumped animal litter from atop the sifting screen. A detachable shovel or scoop may be provided to assist the user with the removal of material which is deposited atop the sifting screen or which is attached to the inner surfaces of the main litter box base. The foregoing and other features of the device of the present invention will be further apparent from the detailed description which follows.